Mill Creek residents tired of Kane County leaving them in dark

Mill Creek resident Bill Earle and about 20 of his neighbors hoped to figure out Wednesday night exactly what’s going on with the organization in charge of all the basic infrastructure maintenance in their subdivision. Instead, they found a closed door and a dark room.

Kane County government oversees the Mill Creek special service area that handles all the public works functions for the unincorporated subdivision near Geneva. But the county is in the middle of revamping its entire approach to maintenance in Mill Creek as the relatively new subdivision is just now showing its first signs of age.

It’s those pending changes and those persistent wrinkles Earle and his neighbors hoped to inquire about this week. But the county canceled its regularly scheduled service area meeting with Mill Creek residents until after it locks in management changes.

Earle and his neighbors would like to ask about those pending changes before they occur, especially if it means new management salaries they’ll have to pay in their service area fees.

“We know virtually nothing about what’s happening,” Earle said. “There needs to be more communication with the Mill Creek population about what’s going on.”

Earle said many residents don’t even understand what the county does for the subdivision. As a result, people don’t know who to talk to when maintenance falls through the cracks.

“Normal day-to-day stuff like replacing light bulbs and cutting grass properly, those things aren’t being done unless someone picks up the phone calls to complain,” Earle said. “There are people who are livid about the condition of the alleyways. The problem with the (service area) is the ordinance doesn’t really define what the service area does.”

Mill Creek is in Kane County Board Member Drew Frasz’s district. Frasz said the pending management changes in the service area should resolve the exact problems Earle cites with a more involved structure.

“We want the (Mill Creek Special Service Area) board to become a bit more empowered,” Frasz said. “That’s why were looking at not only changing the management and structure out there, but also filling a couple of the open positions on that board.”

Frasz said he expects the changes will be in place soon. Once that happens he’ll ask for a special meeting to be scheduled with Mill Creek residents to inform them of the new changes.